Page 14 of Kiss Me Forever

Luke rose too. “The rules only apply once you agree to work with us. We’re still in no-man's-land, so to speak."

Luke Maxwell was a master at word games.

“I’ll email you tomorrow morning,” I said.

“I’m looking forward to it.” His eyes were still dark.

My heart was pounding through my rib cage, my pulse was so fast that I was beginning to feel light-headed.

Clearing my throat, I uttered a hurried goodbye and headed toward the exit. I didn’t look over my shoulder even once because I was certain his eyes were on me.

For the rest of the morning, I wandered through the city, trying to make up my mind. I spent the whole afternoon sitting in my bed, looking at other job openings, but none were even close to being as attractive as this one. Besides, the deadline for applying for the US Architecture Design Award was in a week. I had enough job-hunting experience to know I wouldn’t get an offer that soon.

I looked at the LinkedIn profiles of former interns again. They all went on to have amazing careers and had gotten job offers at prestigious architecture companies around the world.

I’d told him I wanted to sleep on it, but in truth, I’d already made up my mind. Being around him was going to be hard, or at the very least awkward, but I wasn’t going to throw away this opportunity because of that.

Putting my laptop to one side, I got up from my bed. This was probably the world’s tiniest bedroom. The bed took up the whole room, but the wall in front of it was one huge mirror, so visually, it seemed larger. The dresser was next to the bathroom.

I took my laptop to the living room, needing a change of scenery. I liked the living and cooking area. The white kitchen took up most of the space. In the opposite corner was a small gray couch. I didn’t own a TV, primarily because the cost of cable was outrageous, and if I wanted to stream anything, I could just watch it on my laptop.

The place was small, but I wanted to live alone and be able to afford it, and at this price, I didn’t get much square footage. I liked my space, though. I didn’t want to share an apartment, not even with Nina, who’d insisted we could find something together.

I took out a mug with the words “World’s Best Teacup” on it. Aunt Dana gave it to me when I left for college. I made chamomile tea, taking a few sips while I played in my mind how the conversation with Luke might go.

I liked this visualization technique. I learned it in my last year of college. The professor who taught it insisted he used it whenever he had a presentation. I found it useful to soothe my nerves before interviews.

Once I finished my tea, I grabbed my phone and called Luke. It was six o’clock in the evening, so I shouldn’t be interrupting a meeting.

He answered right away. “This is a pleasant surprise, Megan.”

My stomach instantly constricted, and my palms were a bit sweaty. “Hey, Luke. I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

“No, nothing at all.”

“I’m calling you because I’ve decided to take the job. I want the internship. I want to be part of your team.”

“That’s excellent news.”

“When should I come by the office?”

“Tomorrow morning. Like I said, the timing is great. I’ve got some new projects that you’ll be perfect for.”

“Okay.”

Silence stretched between us for quite some time. It wasn’t awkward, justcharged.

“Right. Well, that’s all,” I said. “Unless you need anything else from me?”

“There are so many more fucking things I need.” He groaned. His voice had dropped an octave. “But as of this moment, we’re not in no-man’s-land anymore, Megan.”

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